Public Meeting to Discuss the Situation at
Pacifica
Radio, and Action We
Can Take

MONDAY, OCTOBER 30th - 6:30 p.m.
at the offices of DC 1707 - 75 Varick St. - 14th
floor
(just north of Canal St., the A, E, C, 1 and 9
trains all stop at Canal)

We hope you will be able to join us on
October 30th for this
important discussion. (For those of you who were
at
the 10/10 meeting:
we had to change the date of this meeting from
10/25
to 10/30.

The 10/10 meeting included an overview of what has
been happening in
Pacifica, as well as discussion of the broader
political and economic
context in which this is unfolding. We began to
explore steps we might
take to help keep Pacifica true to it's mission:
educating more people
about the problems; connecting with activists in
other cities;
pressuring those in control of the national board
and the national
staff; building support for WBAI. Above all else,
there was a strong
commitment to the struggle to save Pacifica.

Since that meeting the situation has taken a new
turn. A letter that Amy
Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, sent to
Pacifica's
executive director
and Board became public this past week. In her
letter, Amy explains the
harassment the show has been under, raising
serious
concerns about
future actions Pacifica may try to take.

Our meeting next Monday (10/30) will be a timely
opportunity for us to
share information and focus on our next steps. We
will bring a more
detailed summation of the ideas generated at the
October 10th meeting
and we hope everyone will come with ideas for our
collective action.

For more information: lesliecagan@igc.org

The October 10th public meeting (see below) was a great success,
with a turnout of listeners, producers, local and national board members, and members of the media. A surprise guest speaker was Dan Coughlin, former Pacifica Network News Director, who was fired from Pacifica for not yielding to Pacifica's pressures on the news department. He spoke about how extreme and continuous those pressures were. There was an excellent spirit of unity, and more meetings will be held on an ongoing basis, with the next one scheduled for October 25th. Check back here soon for a full report, and meeting details.

PACIFICA CRISIS PUBLIC MEETING

You are invited to a discussion about the on-going crisis at the
Pacifica Radio network:

Tuesday, October 10th, 6:30 p.m.
at the offices of DC 1707 - 75 Varick St. - 14th floor
(just north of Canal St., the A, E, C, 1 and 9 trains all stop at Canal)

Last summer, many on the left were alarmed at the news coming out of
Berkeley about Pacifica. In a series of dramatic actions against the
network's station in Berkeley, KPFA, the leadership of the National
Board revealed a deeply troubling attitude toward the freedom of the
sister stations, and raised concerns about the future of the
50-year-old alternative-radio network....including WBAI in New York
City.

If you haven't been paying attention over the past year, you might
believe the situation has calmed down and things are okay at Pacifica.
This is not the case. Those controlling the national board have
continued to make decisions eating away at the heart and soul of
Pacifica, and a great deal is at stake in this ongoing conflict.

This past June two New Yorkers - Leslie Cagan and Beth Lyons - joined
the national Pacifica Board, thus expanding from four to six the people
on the board struggling against those presently in control.

Having participated in two national meetings and a recent board conference
call, we are convinced that a national campaign to save Pacifica is
urgently needed. A critical part for such an effort is sharing
information about what's been happening and what it all means for the
station's future.

Our public meeting on Tuesday, October 10th is an opportunity for us to
let you know what's going on. There will be time for discussion of what
we can do by working together. We have a lot to talk about and so the
meeting will start promptly at 6:30 p.m.

We apologize for not getting word about this meeting out sooner, but we
hope you will be able to join us next week. And please tell others who
might be interested.